//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Mail Order Orphan // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// Discord had said goodbye and then departed suddenly. The foal was napping after her meal, curled up in a well padded wooden cradle, with her blanket. And Fluttershy was afraid. Fear flowed through her. Too many fears to even begin to identify them all. Fear of being a mother… And failing. She kept checking the cradle to see if the foal had stopped breathing. And then there was the foal herself. What if she had a little accident while she was sleeping and burned the cottage down? And all of the animals? That would be awful. Fluttershy felt the panic twist her insides. Angel was beside her in the overstuffed chair, clinging to her foreleg. He was getting old, and he had lived far, far longer than any normal rabbit should. He was in one of his rare comforting moods, rubbing his cheek against her, trying to soothe her and make her feel better. It wasn’t working. She was committed to this though. The foal was staying. As scary as it might be, Fluttershy knew that she couldn’t live with her self if she gave up now. She struggled to breathe. The room she had turned into a nursery was cheerful. Sunflowers had been painted on the walls. She felt alone. More alone than she had felt in a long time. Painfully alone. The foal was sucking her claw again. Could it even be called a foal? Fluttershy didn’t know. And a name was needed. Fluttershy began to wonder if she had bitten off more than she could chew. She couldn’t give up, but going forward seemed impossible. Downstairs, the cuckoo clock announced the time. The foal was still breathing. She could hear little slurping sounds. Her obsessions and compulsions began to pile up in her mind. Maybe she had made a mistake. Was she fit to be a mother? A single mother? Discord, for all of his faults, was kind to the foal and had tried to comfort her in his own confusing way. And now he was gone. Mostly hairless, slightly burnt, and gone. The stench of fried draconequus hair still filled the cottage. Fluttershy realised she was squeaking faintly with every breath. She struggled to take a deep breath. And heard a knock at the door. She gazed at the cradle, unsure if she could leave. She stood there, frozen, unsure of what to do. Finally, she tore herself away, and went downstairs to answer the door. She hadn’t told anypony what she had done. Not one word had been said to anyone. She just couldn’t. Only Discord knew. She tensed as she neared the door, knowing that in just a few moments, there was going to be a panicked explanation. She contemplated not opening the door. There was another knock, louder this time. Why couldn’t she have told her friends? She didn’t know. Part of her worried that her friends would try to talk her out of it. To get her to be reasonable. At least that is what she told herself. Why had she convinced herself of that? She didn’t know. She stood at the door. “Fluttershy?” The voice belonged to Twilight Sparkle. Fluttershy pulled open the door and did her best to hide her expression. Twilight looked at her for a moment, her ears swiveling forward. “Fluttershy,” she asked, “Are you alright? You look awful. I heard that you had a visitor earlier. Did something go wrong?” Fluttershy made no reply, she just stood there, breathing heavily, trying to hold off the panic. Twilight pushed her way through the door and gently brushed a wing against Fluttershy’s face. “You can talk to me you know, I’m your friend. I know there is something wrong. What is it? Or am I going to have to get the others and we all take turns prying it out of you?” Fluttershy’s gaze fell, her wings drooped to the floor, and her ears sank down beside her face. She took a deep breath. “Follow me upstairs,” she said finally. “It will be easier to show you.” Twilight Sparkle stood in silence in the nursery. She had read the papers, looked in the cradle, and was now taking it all in. Fluttershy had retreated to her overstuffed chair in the corner of the room. “There’s more,” Fluttershy said, “she is an incendiary creature.” “A fire breather?” Twilight replied. “Not exactly.” Said Fluttershy, biting her lip. Twilight looked confused. “The other end,” Fluttershy mumbled. Twilight began to giggle softly. “It isn’t funny!” Fluttershy said in a harsh whisper. “She burned most of the hair right off of Discord and would have set my cottage on fire. And she ate over a dozen spoons!” Twilight had fallen to the floor, her hoof stuffed into her mouth, trying valiantly to make as little noise as possible. Her whole body shook with laughter. There was a snort from the cradle. Fluttershy was on her hooves in a second, crossing the room. She rose into a hover, and lifted the foal from the cradle. “Did we wake you?” She cooed. The foal yawned. She then began to squirm and wiggle. “Pee pot!” She squeaked. Fluttershy took off for the bathroom. It had taken a while for Twilight to compose herself. She was mostly OK now, but still occasionally let out a giggle or a small snort. Fluttershy was still in the bathroom with the foal. She could hear words of praise and encouragement, and finally a small “Yay!” The door opened, and Fluttershy came back into the nursery. She set the foal on the floor. Twilight was able to get an up close look at the foal. She walked around her a few times, sniffing her, and even nuzzling her a few times with her nose, causing the foal to giggle. “I don’t see what the big deal is. You know that we’ll all help you, right? You are not alone Fluttershy.” Twilight laid down on the floor, next to the strange foal. It wobbled over to her on trembling little legs. Fluttershy laid down on the floor as well. Angel kept his spot on the chair. “I wish you would have said something to me. I would have helped you.” “I thought if I said anything that you would try to talk me out of it.” “Why would I do that?” “I do not know.” Fluttershy closed her eyes and pressed her nose into her foal, breathing in its scent. “I guess I get strange thoughts sometimes. I talk myself into things.” “I know how that is.” Twilight said. “I’ve had those moments. I can really get myself worked up over nothing.” Twilight winced as the foal gripped her ear in her claws. “Easy there. Don’t pull.” The foal had lifted itself up and was using Twilights head to balance itself on two legs. “Spike used to do the same thing when he was little.” Twilight said wistfully. “I am going to have to bring Spike by for a visit. I’m sure he’ll adore her. And everypony else as well. Pinkie is going to have to throw you a foal shower just like she did for Applejack. She’s going to be disappointed you didn’t tell her in advance.” Fluttershy said nothing, but there was a smile forming on her face. She felt better. She reached out with a wing and tried an experimental tickle on the foal. She promptly fell onto her backside and then collapsed onto her back with the giggles, squealing, squirming, and trying to get away. “So she eats spoons, huh?” Twilight asked. “Crunches them right up.” Fluttershy replied. “Spike will finally have somebody to share a meal of gems with.” “Does Spike still get lonely for other dragons?” Fluttershy asked. There was a long silence. “I think Spike has given up on other dragons. I don’t think he likes how they act. Visiting the other dragons changed him. Did something to him. I think he appreciates being raised by ponies more.” “Do you think she will appreciate being raised by ponies?” Fluttershy asked, blowing her mane out of her eyes. “I think she will appreciate having you for a mother.” There was another long silence between the two friends, as silent as silence could be with a giggling snorting foal. Twilight leaned in and blew a raspberry on the foal’s tummy. “She’s scaly!” Twilight exclaimed. “Like Spike. Only her scales are a bit scratchier.” Fluttershy pressed her muzzle into the exposed tummy and blew a raspberry, causing the foal to squeal. “So, she shoots dragonfire out of her backside…” The statement lingered in the air, much in the same way that the scorched smell of draconequus hair lingered. “Fire training Spike was no easy task. He still has accidents. And I have magic to help me out if something goes wrong. I wonder what I can do to flameproof her room. And your cottage. Tell me, what colour are the flames?” “Blue and purple.” Fluttershy replied. “And Discord couldn’t make his hair grow back.” “Well yeah, “Twilight replied. “That much is obvious. She has nullfire.” “What’s nullfire?” “Well, it is theorised that dragons evolved nullfire to deal with unicorns and other powerful magical beings and creatures. It rips through magical defenses. It dispels magic. Well, most magic. Very powerful magic might stand a chance. She’s young. When she gets older, her nullfire could become very powerful. It could be very useful in dealing with pockets of bad magic, curses, or enchantments of a dark sort.” Fluttershy said nothing, a thoughtful look on her face. “Going to make it very difficult to fireproof your cottage. Not impossible. She is young, and I am an alicorn now. It will be a good test of my abilities. If I can manage.” “Twilight?” “Yes Fluttershy?” “Thank you for making me feel better. I needed that. I was letting my thoughts run away from me and wreck what supposed to be a great day.” The foal was on her back, now sucking on the end of her tail. Twilight began to examine the pale blue and leathery draconic wing. “She has a digit.” Twilight pointed with her hoof. “See, right there, on her central knuckle. A short stubby little finger that can be used to pinch things or pick up small things. Luna’s lunar pegasi use them to buckle on their armor. With her griffon claws, her dragon toes, her tail, and her digit, she will be able to hold, grasp, and manipulate all sorts of things. Spike can pick up and hold things with his hind feet.” “And her feathery wing.” Fluttershy added. “Some pegasi become very good at feather manipulation. Twilight, do you think she’ll be able to fly?” Twilight shrugged. “Maybe. It is possible I suppose.” “Twilight?” Fluttershy asked, “do you think you could bring our friends around later this afternoon? To meet the foal. If you wouldn’t mind. If that would be OK…” Her voice trailed off. “I don’t want to leave her, but I do want the others to know.” “Sure,” was Twilights reply. “I think I could help with that.”